


Power Struggle

by tinmunky



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: Canon Typical Violence, F/M, Fist Fights, Power Struggle, Sexual Tension, Violence, mature for language
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-04
Updated: 2014-02-04
Packaged: 2018-01-11 04:09:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,431
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1168498
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tinmunky/pseuds/tinmunky
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Shepard and Zaeed iron out the kinks of their working relationship post Zorya</p>
            </blockquote>





	Power Struggle

**Author's Note:**

> I always wondered what that awkward post Zorya time would be like. I purposely leave Shepard vague so you can add your Shepard's characteristics. I do insist she's not a small chick ;) 
> 
> Music Sellection: Black Strobe's Blood Shot Eyes
> 
> Forgive any errors, spelling or otherwise. This is posted without beta.
> 
> Bioware owns characters

If you had asked Shepard where she would be two years after being inducted as the first human Spectre, she wouldn’t have said working with one cantankerous old man merc on some asshole mission in some god forsaken jungle. She definitely wouldn’t have fucking said dying for the Alliance she was now exiled from, or being reincarnated to work for Cerberus for that matter. Now that was a twist! The so-called afterlife is funny like that, but beggars can’t be choosers where being brought back from the dead is concerned.

From the moment Shepard laid eyes on Zaeed Massani on Omega, she knew he was gonna be more trouble than he was worth. Arrogant, hot tempered, brash. But Cerberus paid a hefty price for his cooperation, and the several missions he had already accompanied her on proved him as a valuable asset in combat and merc intel.

Being dead does change a few things though. Your temper is a helluva lot shorter for one. Your moral black and white becomes a whole lot more gray. Your ability to run an effective PR campaign pretty much flies out the airlock. But the biggest change, you have no problem cutting septic situations out of the equation. Everything seems a bit clearer like that. You’ve died, you don’t have time for bullshit.

Massani’s scorched earth policy when it came to his personal vendetta was problematic. Through half-truths and manipulation he FUBARed the Zorya mission and put innocent bystanders at risk. That was something Shepard, new or old, would not tolerate.

So here she was standing over a volatile bundle of real fucking angry, giving him the there is no “I” in “team” speech.

“You put your own goals ahead of the mission, that is not is the way this works. “

Zaeed scoffed “I’ve survived this long watching my own back. No time to worry about anyone else.”

Obviously the gravity of the situation had not dawned on him yet. Shepard raised her weapon to his head

“You’re part of a team now Zaeed, there is no way we can do this unless we’re all working together”

He twisted under the weight of the concrete pylon, quickly assessing the situation. Massani wasn’t always the only one who made it out alive for no reason. He was smart. He knew when to hedge his bets and when to fold. And this was a folding situation.

“You, you have a point. I’m not done with Vido but I can put that behind me long enough to get your mission done. Let’s get the hell outta here”

Shepard thumbed the safety and released the breath she was holding. She also wasn’t in the business of wasting assets, no matter how irritating they were.

The Kodiak ride back to the Normandy was tense to say the least. Garrus knew the Commander as best as anyone. She was weighing how best to manage the still simmering situation. He leaned quietly against the bulkhead. Head bowed, arms folded across his chest plate and waited. He could feel the white hot anger flowing off of Zaeed, and he was sure she could too.

Shepard sat with her elbows braced on knees and hands clasped. She lifted her head and studied Zaeed’s face. For a lot longer than most would find comfortable. He stared right back. Never flinching, never looking away.

And they sat like that, staring each other down. For. The. Whole. Ride. 

Even Garrus felt the barely controlled urge to fidget. As the Cerberus Kodiak docked into the hold of the Normandy, Garrus quickly slid to the hatch and mashed the release. Out before the oppressive atmosphere crushed him.

In a show of supreme confidence Shepard put her back to Massani and stepped out first.

Shepard handed her gear to a waiting crew member for stowage and strode to the elevator. She needed to get the smell of burning chemicals off her skin. It had been a long, tense day and she still felt Massani would have a hard time letting go, even temporarily.

Shepard stepped in and turned to face the door, Zaeed hot on her heels. Christ, could she just not catch a break?

The doors slid closed and the lift slowly moved upwards through the ship. Halfway between Cargo and Engineering Zaeed couldn’t hold it any more. He slapped the emergency stop button and the lift ground to a halt.

“Commander? Is there an issue within the lift?” EDI’s cultured voice emanated from the ceiling.

“No, EDI, thank you. Disconnect form the lift surveillance at this time. We will be underway shortly.”

Shepard sighed. Well I guess we’re doing this here. She squared up and turned her head to give Massani the gimlet eye.

“Do you have something further to add Massani?”

“For the record Shepard, I will have my due and Vido will get his. I’m not one of your Alliance do boys. My contract says you’re going to provide the necessary assistance to get it done, I expect your obligation to be paid in full.” Zaeed chewed the words off.

“Duly noted Massani. I always pay my debts. ” Shepard turned to face him fully, stepping forward, closing the distance in the already ego crowded lift.

“Furthermore, I know your shtick is the lone wolf merc, but I need to ensure, for the safety of my team, and ultimately your continued survival, that you have fully committed to this mission.  And by that I mean, unless you have a real fucking compelling reason to countermand my orders, you fall the fuck in line, I don’t care if you’re merc, Alliance, Cerberus or GOD ALL-FUCKING-MIGHTY. Is that clear?” Her voice sharp as a knife, she finished with all six feet of her standing boot to boot with Zaeed Massani. Not giving an inch.

Zaeed ground his teeth and turned his head spitting into the grated floor.

“Has anyone ever brought you down a peg girl?”

“You offering old man?” Before the words cleared her lips Massani had slammed one open hand into her shoulder and spun her, his arm closing around her neck and slammed her face into the opposite wall. Blood splattering across her and the lift. Wall fuck, I just had that fixed. Massani moved faster than she expected.

Shepard dropped her chin, keeping his arm from closing around her windpipe.  He wrapped the other around her waist trapping one arm, she swung back with her free elbow but he ducked and wove without giving her a good angle.

“Slipperly asshole.” She growled spitting blood.

“Don’t sweet talk me.” Zaeed chuckled between grunts and she bucked.

Well if he wanted to hold her tight, he could hold all 200 pounds of her and her armor. Before he could anticipate her shift in body weight she tucked both her legs and kicked off the wall sending them careening across the lift.

Zaeed’s back hit the opposite wall with a thud as she knocked the breath out of him. The hairs on her neck goose bumping as it played across her skin. Shepard dug her heels in pushing back to pin him to the wall and slammed the back of her head into his nose feeling the satisfying crunch.

“I pay my debts old man!”

He tightened his neck hold and Shepard’s vision edged. Time for ending this in her favor was closing fast. She brought her leg forward and cow kicked him square in the balls. His arms went slack. Even with the cupped armor, enough force will translate through. And she put a hell of a lot of force into it.

“Hngph, Murthafukar.” his voice muffled by her hair.

Shepard spun from his grasp and with a guttural roar launched herself at him again, riding his chest plate to the ground and pinning his shoulders and arms beneath her legs.

Shepard straddled his ches. She stared down at Zaeed, breathing heavily as blood dripped from her split cheekbone onto his face.

“Zaeed, I want this relationship to be beneficial to us both.” Shepard huffed out. “But you’re going to have to trust me here.” She leaned forward and grinned like some kind of macabre death’s head covered in blood “I pay my debts. Don’t fucking doubt it. So, are. We. good?”

Zaeed’s face housed anger, confusion, admiration blood and no small amount of lust.

 “Are we good? Goddam. I don’t know if I want to fuck you or kill you. Yeah, we’re good” He chuckled darkly.

“Well, you’ve tried one twice. You’ll need to diversify.” Shepard patted his good cheek and splattered blood across his face.


End file.
